As Orson Welles once said "We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone". It is perhaps the underlying knowledge of this fact - that we are all flying solo in life - that makes films which deal with isolation so powerful and riveting and ultimately easy to identify with. Beyond Welles' bleak philosophical assessment of the human condition we all know what it is to experience actual loneliness in some form or other, be it our first night away from home, or being the new kid at school, or not being able to get a girlfriend/boyfriend, social or physical isolation is universally experienced. As mentioned this is no doubt a key factor as to why the theme of isolation has long fascinated filmmakers. What follows is a list of 14 of the greatest films which tackle isolation in all its forms. Though the list encompasses several genres including drama and thrillers the majority of the titles fall into sci-fi, horror or its subcategories, demonstrating to some degree that the fantastical and speculative genres are at the vanguard of films which seek to address the human condition.
14. Open Water (2003)
Most films that dare attempt to include sharks as the antagonistic force will always suffer greatly in comparison to a notable shark film of the 1970s and Open Water is no different. Yet it still adds something to the humans versus sharks genre, in a way, solely by subverting the premise to sharks versus humans. That's not to say the sharks are the central characters or even sympathetic in Open Water but they certainly have the upper hand over the human characters. Like several of the films on this list Open Water is based on a true story, albeit loosely based in this case. Like Tom and Eileen Lonergan (the couple upon whom the story is based on) Daniel and Susan are accidentally left behind in the ocean after being part of a scuba diving boat tour. As the Lonergan's were lost at sea, presumed dead, the rest of the story involving Daniel and Susan being stalked by a school of sharks is pure fabrication, yet it doesn't detract from the palpable sense of isolation felt by being completely adrift in the middle of the ocean.